The Bone Field (Lamashan (X) 29th, 4712 AR)
Seneschal's Cathedral
The bones around this area are
meticulously organized, creating a spiral of bone walls that lead into a small
clearing. In the center of this open space reside the bones of a gargantuan dragon.
The dragon’s bones have been carefully
carved with the draconic word for “protector” over and over again. Despite their
pristine condition, the skull of the dragon has been crushed. The heroes uncovered a green dragon
scale embedded in a fragment of the shattered skull. The bones ringing this
clearing are inscribed with a complex litany of protective runes, mixed in with
bits of draconic prophecy.
The tongue of rebuke alternated between its breath weapon and roar. It fought until destroyed.
The Spirit of Auronorex
This location contains some of
the largest draconic skeletons in the entire Bone Field. Lying in the center of
these skeletons is a rotting corpse of a gold dragon, the body of
Auronorex. His body glows with an intense, golden light, and is the source of
the glow visible across the Bone Field.
When the heroes approached, a spectral
image appeared, the ghost of Auronorex himself, bound to this place by the
sacrilege taking place in Dragonfall.
An image shimmered into being: the ghostly form of an old human
man. “I thought I might appear in a form that you are more accustomed to.
“I cannot tell you how much it pleases me to see you here. I
was beginning to worry my message was not delivered. As you can see, things are
not as they should be. You should not have even been able to make it this far.
The guardians, a powerful group of constructs, should have destroyed you the
moment you entered, as they have done for countless centuries.”
The ghostly old man motions to the spire of rock in the
distance before continuing. “When I arrived here two months ago, I proceeded to
Shearphorus, as I knew I must. Once there, I went to the shrine of my kind,
there to spend my final moments before my spirit would go to join those who
have come before. With my strength failing, I had little chance to explore, to
discover the cause behind this disturbance. I did, however, catch a glance of a
human form, one tainted with infernal blood. She looked on as I made my way to
the shrine, surrounded by the very guardians that should be protecting this
place. When she commanded them, they obeyed. Horrified by this discovery, and
knowing that I would find no rest among such perversion, I fled the sacred
mountain to seek help. Unfortunately, the usurper detected my presence and
dispatched the guardians to pursue me. In my weakened state I did not get far,
and they caught up to me here. The current defilement of this sacred place
denies me my rest. Now I am bound here, possibly forever.
“Long have I studied this place, but even now I am unsure
exactly how it was subverted. I can tell you this, however: There is an
artifact that supposedly can control the guardians. In the draconic texts, it
is known as ‘The frozen tear encased beneath the pillars of fire, at the end of
the gauntlet beyond the throatless voice.’ I’m not sure exactly what this
means, but I believe that it is your best chance to restore Dragonfall. Find
the usurper, recover this ‘frozen tear,’ and return it to its rightful place,
only then will the corruption end. That should also lift the curse of death
that will be placed upon you.”
After this speech, Auronorex grew silent,
waiting for the heroes to respond. He answered any questions he could.
“Several of the evil breeds of dragons require living sacrifices for their
final draconic rites. In order to bring these sacrifices into the appropriate
crypts within the mountain, they would deliver them to various shrines lying
within the Bone Field, before attempting to enter the mountain themselves. You
best chance for entering the mountain undetected is through one of these
shrines. While they should all be guarded, I’ve noticed that the Emerald Shrine,
located not too far from here, appears to be deserted.”
“Each race of dragons has a complex crypt associated with it.
The doors to these only open when a dragon of the proper breed is present,
although I believe that if you find the appropriate body part, even dead, the
crypt would still open. I do not know the specific body part you need, but it
is one that belongs to all true dragons, living and dead. The crypts serve us
in our final hours and allow our souls to join with our kin. Aside from the crypts,
construct guardians still prowl the halls, although they seemed to me to be on strange
errands.”
“I do not know the infernal woman, for I only glimpsed her briefly. As for others, I did not see any, but there was a great green dragon prowling the area. I cannot be certain whether she was simply waiting for the right moment to die or was there for more sinister purposes."
“It is my understanding that undead dragons are destroyed the moment they are discovered here. The fact that you have faced some is just another clue that something is seriously wrong.”
“Although I cannot leave this area, I can watch over you while you rest. I must
ask, though, that you do not tarry too long.”
The Emerald Shrine
Rising up out of the Bone Field
is the Emerald Shrine, a place where sacrifices, brought by green dragons to
ease their passing, are prepared and transported inside the mountain. Each evil
dragon type has a similar shrine, scattered around the Bone Field.
The vast wall of the mountain looms above, its peak obscured by the furious storm. Ahead, a dark hole opens into the side of the mountain. From a distance, it might be mistaken for a natural fissure in the rock, if not for the sight of an enormous emerald that has been set into the opening above the cave entrance. A line of flowing draconic script has been traced around the outside of the cave entrance. The script reads, in Draconic, “To serve in life and glorify in death.”
Creatures with heads sporting heavy, curving, bone-colored horns, pelts covered by tough scales, and over-muscled goat legs that seemed always poised to launch them at prey hid and waited around the entrance. Their appearance was that of ruthless savages. They viewed non-draconic creatures as invaders.
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